Start Farming Blog
Do you plan to direct market? With only $0.18 of every dollar spent on food going to the farmer, direct marketing might help you capture more cents toward your farm revenue. However, as a food retailer you will be responsible for a potentially longish list of regulations and regulators. This brief article will start you thinking about who to contact and what rules might apply to your Pennsylvania farm.
Favorable weather and anxious customers spurs many growers into fevered efforts at production. It may be worth some of our time to keep a sharp focus on our marketing challenges, also. Remember, the customer may not always be right - but they are the customer.
The Basket Weave or Florida Weave is a common way to stake field tomatoes. It works for both determinate and indeterminate tomatoes. Staking is important to reduce fruit rots, sunscald and foliar diseases.
You can greatly increase your market day bottom line by taking some time to evaluate how you plan to sell your products at the farmer’s market. Here are some things customers (and market managers) will expect to see from you.
Know what the number one answer for "what do you think it takes to farm?" You HAVE to love what you do – you have to enjoy it!
Recently I have been receiving a lot of requests for help finding farmland to buy or lease. I wanted share a collection of resources to help you find land and considerations to make before you rent or buy.
Cucumbers, Summer Squash, and Winter Squash have a number of serious pests: cucumber beetles, squash bugs, and vine borer. Cucumber beetles also transmit bacterial wilt, squash mosaic virus, increase the incidence of powdery mildew, black rot and powdery mildew. Make sure you use cultural controls to manage these pests from the start!
For consumers (and some very enthusiastic vendors), this time of year elicits shrikes of excitement and sheer joy as people line up to see which vendor has the early asparagus, rhubarb, or coveted dry beans preserved from fall harvest.
Are you raising poultry and wondering what rules apply to you?
"What should I be pricing my melons at?" Take a step back and incorporate price into your marketing plan.
It is easy to let weeds go in the rush of spring planting. Try not to forget that a little time spent managing weeds now can save you huge amounts of time later.
It is critical to manage fruit diseases before you have them. Whether organic or not management is usually protective, not curative.
Free Webinar April 10, 7-8pm EST Join the Cornell Small Farms Program and FSA Senior Loan Specialist Carrie Novak for this One-Time Opportunity
FSA recently launched their new micro-loan program. If you are a new farmer who needs a loan of less than $35,000 the micro-loan program might be a good fit.
Here are some practical tips when looking to manage pastures this spring.
As you are about to shear your sheep this spring I thought you might want to review our sheep shearing videos. Mike Fournier, Penn State Extension demonstrates the six shearing positions as well as tool maintenance.
Check out this event featuring new farmers from our area talking about social media.
Once the season gets rolling there are so many things to do it can be hard to keep up. To prevent pest and disease problems it is a good idea to come up with a plan now.
Right now, livestock farmers are in a difficult position. Feed prices have skyrocketed and it can be difficult to pass that entire increase on to our customers without having very expensive chicken that might be out of the range of most of our customers. We might need to raise our prices to help recoup some of the cost but we also need to find areas where we can improve efficiencies, cut costs, and know where our greatest expenses lie.
